GI Film Festival looks to Counter Hollywood Stereotypes of GIs

While the media all goes crazy over the dictator loving, America hating Michael Moore and his latest documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, there is another film festival happening that you probably haven’t heard of. It’s called the GI Film Festival.

Speaking at the outset of the inaugural GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C., which runs through the Memorial Day weekend, Raughter said he hopes the new festival helps to focus attention on what he called patriotic films, such as “Saving Private Ryan,” which lost out to “Shakespeare in Love” for the best picture Oscar that year.

“Which film has more meaning?” Raughter asked in an interview. “Which one will last over time? What’s wrong with having films that say America is not the bad guy?”

America not the bad guy? That really goes against everything Hollywood believes.

 This festival looks to showcase movies that show the patriotism, bravery, and heroic acts of our soldiers. A novel idea in a time when all Hollywood is interested in is bashing the United States and the president.

“Hollywood has perpetuated stereotypes about the American soldier,” said Raughter, speaking on behalf of the American Legion.

“There are some really bad films out there that portray Vietnam veterans as crazy and disgruntled people. This event is promising because there are some outstanding films about the U.S. military. Hollywood producers should not be afraid to portray the heroism of the American solider, but many of them are,” he said.

Producers afraid to make patriotic movies for fear of being shunned by the Hollywood elite. But the truth is, Americans love patriotic movies:

A recent study suggests the American public has a big appetite for patriotic films. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide.org, said during a conference call that films with patriotic content have averaged $40 million at the box office over the past five years, while films that take an antagonistic view of America averaged $19 million over the same period.

“Patriotism wins at the box office and wins in the hearts and minds of Americans,” Baehr argued.

He also accused the media of denigrating the American soldier.

“We’ve got the Manchurian press, and they’ve been brainwashed in some strange way,” he said. “The Manchurian press has convinced people on the hill in Washington that if they speak out for the values Americans are voting for at the box office, suddenly they’re going to alienate themselves from their voters.

“People want to believe in their country. They want good to triumph over evil, and people don’t want to be told the country they’ve chosen is a miserable place,” Baehr said. “Sad thing is people in power have bought into the lie, and we need to break through the lie.”

Isn’t that the real truth. Americans do love this country, and many are getting sick and tired of Hollywood and the media bashing it. And those figures above from the box office show us that.